Remember the Day
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and eighty-seven: Sequel to "Memorabilia" Emma knows just the right way to remind Will of their true first meeting.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eigth cycle. Which MEANS **cycle 9** is here, which MEANS... GLEE IS BACK!! YAY!_

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**"Remember the Day"  
Will/Emma  
Sequel to "Precursor" and "Memorabilia"**

She hadn't told him about her discovery, not that night. It wasn't as though she wasn't going to tell him… No, she actually couldn't wait to see the look on his face… So that was why she couldn't tell him, not that night – especially once she knew how she wanted to tell him… It was too good to pass up.

She'd hidden away the program and the coin, so he wouldn't find it and connect the dots before she had the chance to execute her plan. Besides, after Terri had left, the spirit of the evening had taken a bit of a turn. It wasn't completely lost, they still had a good time, but it wasn't the same.

The next weekend, she had it all figured out. They would go on a drive out of town, to just… get out. She would drive, knowing exactly where to go while giving the impression of being absolutely random. Her car already looked and smelled like it was fresh out of the lot, but she'd pulled out her car cleaners just for good measure. She didn't trust carwash services.

They'd driven off with Will telling her about the latest goings on in Glee Club. He always had so much to say, so much passion for those kids. She could and would listen to him the whole way. He wasn't even aware of how far they'd travelled, she was sure.

When she pulled the car to a stop, it took him a second to look around, situate himself. She smiled to herself at that, and when he looked back to her, she played innocent, nodding along.

"I think I need to stretch my legs. Walk?" she suggested. He smiled.

She'd made a point to stop the car a couple minutes' walk away from her intended destination, the better to keep things more 'by chance' for as long as she needed. Still, she could barely contain the bit of nostalgia she felt, being back in the old neighborhood.

They walked along, arm-in-arm, for a few minutes… the day was shaping up so lovely already; she could almost have forgotten what she had originally set to do. At the same time her heart was just beating wildly, anticipating the revelation she was about to make.

"Hey…" she heard Will's voice, drawing her out of her thoughts. She looked back to him and he smiled, indicating the grounds ahead. "We came here once, Glee Club. We had a competition here."

"You did?" she nodded, covertly guiding him up the path. She could swear she saw something in those eyes, like he was remembering… something. "How'd it go?"

"We won," he nodded.

They stopped on the stone path, lined with benches. Will wasn't with her anymore; he was well within that memory now. Seeing his face and how it seemed to light up… She hadn't realized he'd remember this much.

But then, she was remembering, too. There was the bench where he sat; there was the bench where she sat. More times than she'd ever admit, after that day, she'd gone back to sit on her bench, turning her head left like he'd be on his bench again. He never was… until now.

He was off reminiscing enough that she was able to move away from him, walking to sit on the bench she'd been sitting on years before. He was standing almost in the exact spot he'd been, too. After quickly wiping down the bench surface, she sat. She'd even gone so far as to wear the same colors she had that day. Her hair wasn't as long as it had been then, but they could look past that. She waited until a moment where he seemed 'present' and…

"What are you doing?" she spoke. He looked back, surprised for a second, not finding her by his side, where she'd been the last time he was aware.

"When did you…" he started, but she didn't reply. Instead, she got up, walking up to him carefully. As she did, she reached into her pocket, where she'd hidden away the medallion. She made sure to grasp it fully, without him seeing it yet. The gesture still got his attention, as she'd hoped, perhaps even starting to set his mind back into that scenario, without even realizing it.

She came up to a stop a short distance from him, and she held out her hand, waiting for him to extend his, palm up. When he did, it was almost there in his eyes. The pieces were falling into place, but it was impossible, right? It couldn't possibly be…

She placed the coin in his hand, and his eyes went down to look at it. His fingers closed on it, opened… He looked back at her, in complete and blissful shock. He was about as close to tears as she was.

"I-I… cleaned it up for you, hope that's…" He blinked, and then he had her in his arms, kissed her… "… okay?" she finished her sentence, out of breath, grinning.

"I can't… I can't believe it… That was you?" She nodded. "How long have you known?"

"Couple days. I found the program while we were going through those boxes, and I just… I wanted to bring you here…" she looked around. After a moment, she turned back to him. "I took the program with me, but I'll give it back, I swear," she nodded. He just laughed, still filled with the trepidations of all that it meant.

"This is amazing… All these years, Emma… I never forgot," he smiled.

"Neither did I," she smiled back. "I used to dream about… meeting again," she admitted.

"I guess that's one for the 'better late than never' column," he joked, and she laughed. "My father was right," he looked down at the shiny medallion in his palm. "It really is lucky." She beamed shyly.

"Definitely. You should hang on to it."

"Oh, I will…" they shared another smile before starting back for the car. "Let me ask you something."

"Okay?" Emma looked over.

"How long did it take for your brother to show up?" She laughed.

"Fifteen minutes. But it was alright. Time kind of flew…"

THE END


End file.
